Of all gifted people, around 1 in 15 is exceptionally or profoundly gifted. Often characteristic of exceptional giftedness are intense powers of observation and perception, an unquenchable thirst for new knowledge, the capacity to identify patterns in a larger whole and the ability to subsequently apply them in a different context. Also typical is exceptional abstractive ability, as a result of which thinking out of the box is the norm.
It often proves a tremendous challenge to fit into existing systems, such as education (even full-time gifted education, in many cases) and the business community (especially in larger companies and institutions). The overall development of an exceptionally or profoundly gifted person is totally different and asynchronous at all ages. As a child, given the opportunity, they may follow a highly accelerated education programme, tailored to their specific interests. Very many exceptionally gifted people go on to become entrepreneurs or artists as adults. They go their own way. And that can be lonely.
Being in such a minority can make it difficult to meet similarly gifted people. Although many exceptionally gifted people are also exceptionally good at searching, our sub-community specifically for exceptionally and profoundly gifted people makes finding each other just that little bit easier.
